Day 57: March 24

Day 57 – Ch. 25:14-30 March 24

SCRIPTUREOBSERVATION
This parable is called The Parable of the Talents.

This is one of three parables of Jesus regarding His return. The parable of the talents (gold) is the third of the three.  Then He goes on to teach some more about His return.

This parable is very similar to The Parable of the Minas found in Luke 19.

Jesus is in Jerusalem when he tells this parable.  It is just before his trial and crucifixion.
In this parable there is a wealthy man who is preparing to go on a trip. Each of three of his servants or stewards are given an amount of money. A portion of the man’s wealth.  
Then the man departs on his trip.

Verse 15 tells us that he gave them each an amount according to his ability. This indicates that the man knew his stewards well and trusted them (vs 14).

Upon the man’s return, he is going to evaluate the job each of the three men did with what was entrusted to them. He had authority over his servants to reward or to punish them.

The first and second stewards doubled their money. The man expresses his pleasure with their stewardship. And he rewards them.

But the third steward hides his one talent away with the excuse that he knows his master is hard.  He hadn’t even done a minimal amount of work for his master by putting the money in the bank.  Consequently, he was punished.  
 
APPLICATION
The man represents Jesus. Jesus had come to earth and while He was here, He proved He was the Son of God and provided the perfect sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sin.  He has ascended to heaven but will return.  When He returns, we will go to meet him.  

But while He is away, He has entrusted many things to us. He is the creator of it all and therefore owns is all (John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:15-17).  We are just stewards.

He promises He will return. We do not know the hour of his coming and so we need to be faithful with all he has entrusted us with.

To name a few of the things we are responsible to steward: our bodies, our time, our finances, our relationships, our possessions, our energy, our abilities, our careers, our ministries, our opportunities.  

God should come first in all we do, but there’s more to it than that.  He is not just first, but ALL.  He owns it all and has entrusted it to us to steward (manage).  We need to view our entire lives as belonging to Him.

Jesus has expectations of us to manage well everything we are entrusted with.  He does not force us.  We have free will.  But one day we will answer for our stewardship.  We have an awesome responsibility and opportunity to take the small part of what God has entrusted to us and be found faithful in our stewardship of it.  The choice is ours- to use it for the honor and glory of Him or displease Him.

Jesus will judge our stewardship according to our abilities.  Not according to the abilities of others.  He knows what we have been blessed with and he knows our limits.  He will judge each of us fairly (Romans 2:6-11).  

So in the end God will judge us in one of two ways- faithful or unfaithful.

When we are found faithful, we will be rewarded.  “Well done, good and faithful servant…. Share your master’s joy.” The unfaithful will be judged. “You evil, lazy servant.”
 
PRAYER
Lord, help me to be faithful with all you have entrusted to me.  To have a proper view of all you have blessed me with.  You own it all.  Everything. I don’t owe you the first portion and then the rest is mine to do with as I please.  It ALL belongs to you.  Convict my heart when my view becomes skewed. I do not want to hold back or be lazy. I want to be found faithful. To give you all the honor and glory that I possibly can with ALL that I manage.  My time, energy, health, relationships, ministry, opportunities, finances, abilities. They are all yours.  Amen.